Shining Stars
by GateKeeperSyn
Summary: In this companion to Shining Wizard (please read that first), Dean and Nattie tell their sides of the story. As the two face horrible circumstances, Dean begins to fall for Nattie, and whether she knows it or not, she's falling for him, too. After tragedy strikes, Dean swoops in to play the hero and nothing will ever be the same again. Nattie/Tyson Kidd, Nattie/Dean Ambrose.
1. Chapter 1

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_ _This fic is a companion fic to Shining Wizard and contains spoilers for that fic. The other two companion fics I promised will be called Shining Hearts (about Taylor and Tenille) and Shining Souls (about Rosa and Drew) and will be coming very soon. It doesn't matter what order you read these three fics in, because they all go in different directions, but please make sure to read the original fic first! Enjoy Dean and Nattie's sides of the story! Please read and review, and as always, thanks for your support!_

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 _ **DEAN**_

There's a knock on my door. I'm hung-over and exhausted and not really in the mood for company as I get up. I would ignore it, but that's Colby's knock. It's as hyper as he is and I'd know it anywhere. I groan and because I know Colby won't just go away, I struggle into some clothes, pulling my discarded jeans and t-shirt up off the floor. I notice last night's visitor left some clothing behind. She'd come with a few changes of clothes because a ring rat comes prepared I guess. That makes me sound like an asshole, but I'm not. Okay, I _am_ , but not about this. It's just that some girls really _are_ into wrestling just because they wanna fuck the guys. I know plenty of girls who aren't, too, but this one was. I try not to mess with them too often, but I was drunk and lonely last night. Her type gets a little stalkerish at times, but that's life. Ring Rats, man. The struggle is real.

I open the door as I'm pulling down my shirt. I am about to snap at him when I notice his bloody, trembling, tiny companion. AJ Lee is standing outside of my hotel room and I know as soon as I look at her that she's been raped.

 _Fuck,_ I think. "What the hell?" I ask Colby.

"She was attacked," Colby says. His eyes are desperate. He's terrified. I know Colby cares about her and right now, he's in Colby Fix-It Mode. If he can't fix a problem, it hurts him. Looking at him, I know if he can't fix this one, it will break him.

"Dude, I can see that," I snap. "I got two eyes. What happened?" I let them into my room because the last thing this girl needs is for everyone to see her like this.

"She won't tell me," Colby says, fear in his voice.

She's shaking so bad _my_ heart hurts for her. "AJ?" I ask her. I get closer to her and she jerks away. I kneel down in front of her because I know she's scared to death and I don't want to make that worse. I grew up on the street. I've seen those eyes too many times. My own eyes are haunted with horror stories I'll never tell. I reach toward her slowly and say, "April, it's okay. I won't hurt you, and I won't let anyone else hurt you either." She starts sobbing harder. I take her hand in mine and she lets me. I know what she needs to hear. "You're safe," I promise her. I stand up, not letting her hand go, and I pull her body against mine. She sobs until she soaks my shirt and I let her. I don't give a fuck about the shirt.

"I-I need to shower," she says suddenly.

"You shouldn't, April," Colby says. "If you report this-"

I know she's not going to do that no matter how hard we try to convince her to. She says as much and snaps at Colby. "Okay," I say quickly before Colby makes it worse. She doesn't need us arguing with her. She needs to feel like she's in control again. I shoot him a Look that very clearly says to let it go and he does. "The shower's this way." I lead her toward my bathroom. I grab a set of the clothes the ring rat left behind. April's smaller than her, but they're clean and they'll do.

She asks us to talk to her while she showers so she isn't alone, which we agree to as she closes the door. Colby is at a loss for conversation, so I start discussing our match for the night. I both love and hate fighting Colby in the ring. It's like I'm beating up an annoyingly adorable puppy who just wants my love, but at the same time, we know each other so well, our matches are perfect. He is my brother, no matter what the script says, and I'm proud to share a ring with him. I won't tell him that most of the time because there's no need to inflate his ego, but it's the truth.

I doubt our discussion is helping April, so I try to think of what might make her feel better. "She's a geek like you, right?" I whisper to Colby. He nods. "So, April, you got a favorite superhero?" I ask her.

"Yeah," April says, finally talking.

"Black Widow," Colby whispers to me. "I guarantee it."

"Who is it?" I ask.

"Black Widow," she says with a nervous laugh. Colby grins at me, but his eyes are still sad. Sadness doesn't belong in those eyes. Colby's a really pure soul. He's not tainted by all the crap in this world. It's a beautiful thing, and it's part of why I try so hard to protect him.

"Which one is she?" I ask. Comic books and superheroes are Colby's thing. I didn't grow up in that world.

"She's the assassin who can do pretty much anything. She's a total badass."

"And she does everything in a skin-tight suit," Colby adds. Black Widow just got slightly more interesting.

When April finally comes out, she's in the clothes I gave her and she looks remarkably fine. Physically, anyway. "You gonna be okay?" I ask her gently.

"Yeah," she says. "RAW is tonight and I'm totally ready."

Colby looks horrified. "Are you sure?" He asks. "I mean, they'd understand if you took the night off if you just explained that-"

Oh God. He still doesn't get it. He _can't_. You know how I said I didn't grow up in his comic book world? Well, _he_ didn't grow up in _this_ one. _I_ did.

"Dude, seriously, shut up," I tell him. "She doesn't want to tell anyone, and that's her choice. Let her make it herself." I turn to April. "Come on. Let's get to the arena."

April looks at me gratefully as we leave. Colby stops protesting. I feel bad for snapping at him, but he wasn't taking subtle hints. What else was I really supposed to do?

April's match is on early in the night. Colby and I watch from backstage. He is a nervous wreck. "She'll be okay, man," I tell him. "She needs time."

"If I ever find out who did this to her, I'll kill him," Colby tells me.

"I'll help you hide the body," I promise.I pause. "Do you think it was Punk? Maybe that's why she won't talk."

"No... Phil's a dick, but I don't think he would hurt her like this. I dropped her at home earlier, but I picked her up somewhere else."

"So you two were hanging out before?"

"Yeah. She did Crossfit with me." He's smiling.

I roll my eyes. Fucking Colby and his Goddamn Crossfit obsession. "What's up with you two?"

"We're friends."

"You like her. You lit up when you told me that."

"She's married."

"So?"

"Dean, she was just attacked."

"And she called _you_ , not her husband. It could be mutual..."

"There's nothing going on. We're just good friends, okay?"

"Tell me the truth. Before this happened to her, how did being with her make you feel?"

"Dean, I-" He freezes. I can hear music. It's Kane's. "She's still out there... This wasn't scripted."

"Fucking hell," I say. We can see April's fear on camera. She starts hyperventilating.

"I have to go to her!" Colby says.

I grab his arm. "Dude, you can't. Kane and Seth Rollins are on the same team, remember?"

"We can't leave her!"

"I'll go. Just stay here. She'll be fine." I race toward the stage, barely giving the sound guys time to play my music. The pop from the crowd is great as I hurry to her side. I've got my crazy eyes on as I attack Glenn, who is looking at me in shock and confusion. Luckily, Glenn's a professional, so he recovers quickly, fights back slightly, then flees.

I look at April. I want to pick her up and carry her backstage, but I can't do that. The rumors would be insane and I'd probably get fired. Instead, I try to give her a reassuring look while still appearing casual to the crowd, but I know the concern shows through slightly. I nod to acknowledge her and run off, knowing I'm about to get in trouble and not giving a single fuck.

"What the hell was _that_?" Triple H screams at me. I don't like to be screamed at, especially by assholes like him.

"The script sucked," I say with a shrug. "So I fixed it. You're welcome."

He looks at me absolutely infuriated. I've seen that look before from a lot of people. I tend to bring it out in people who think they have authority over me. Oops.

"Ambrose, I could have you fired for this kind of crap!"

"Okay, cool man. I'll just go back to CZW and attack people with forks." Man, I miss my fork. Stupid WWE rules won't let me play with her anymore.

He glares at me. "Don't do anything hasty, now. I'm just saying I _could_ have you fired."

"Are you going to?"

"No." He shakes his head. "You know damn well I won't."

"Yeah, I know, dude."

"You're going to have to pay a fine for this."

"Whatever." I could care less. The script _did_ suck, and I did it for April. I have no regrets.

When I finally get away from Asshat City, I find Colby talking to April, who's pretty worked up about how she's gonna pay the fine and she swears she needs to thank me, which she totally doesn't need to do.

"Tell me yourself, and don't you dare apologize," I interrupt them.

"You got in trouble for me," April says. I feel bad. She's freaking out enough.

"No big," I insist. "I get in trouble for _lots_ of reasons. If they wanted someone who never goes nuts and never goes against their crappy writing, they shouldn't have hired Jon Moxley. Besides, I'm clearly labeled." I point at my chest, which reads "unstable _."_ April starts laughing. My work is done.

"Thanks," she tells me. "For saving me _and_ for making me laugh."

"If I knew they changed the script, I would have warned you," Colby tells her.

"I know," she says. "I trust you."

"Glenn said they wanted your reaction to be authentic, so they didn't tell you," I say. "I don't know what reaction they wanted, but it was _definitely_ authentic."

"I meant it about paying the fine."

"Nope." It's as simple as that really.

"What do you mean, 'nope?' You got fined for having my back. I should pay it, not you."

"Money means shit to me, April. I never had it, so as long as I can pay for a roof over my head, it's a step up. Besides, it was my idea. You didn't ask me to do it."

"Thanks."

"Quit thanking me. It was no big deal."

"It _was_ a big deal, to me, anyway." She kisses my cheek, which almost makes me feel warm and fuzzy for a second. That's so not me.

April insists on going home by herself and taking a cab. She hugs me and I let her because she needs it. When she leaves, I have to talk Colby down and convince him she'll be alright. It's been one hell of a fucking day.

 _ **NATTIE**_

I've been looking for my husband everywhere. He's hiding from me, probably joking around with the boys. Typical.

"Nattie, oh my God, you will _not_ believe these new boots I found!" Nikki Bella greets me. If there's one thing I've learned about Nicole, it's that no preamble is necessary when it comes to exciting fashion finds.

The red boots _are_ actually pretty cute, but I don't really care at the moment. "That's great, Nicole," I tell her with forced enthusiasm. "John's gonna love them." Because of _Total Divas,_ Nicole and I were sort of forced to be friends. I don't mind her most of the time, but she does get on my nerves with how superficial she can be.

"I know, right?" She's smiling from ear to ear. Her enthusiasm should be contagious, but it's not. She looks at me. "What's wrong?" She asks knowingly.

"It's TJ," I say with a sigh. "I can't find him anywhere."

"He was with Justin earlier… I love having him here. He's so freaking sexy to look at…"

"Nicole!"

"What? John isn't the jealous type. I'm just _looking_."

"If you're going to lust for someone, you should know his real name is PJ, not Justin."

"PJ, Justin, Bunny Boy… Either way, he's hot. I love the dangerous ones."

"You're terrible." I laugh. Then I see TJ, and my laughter stops. He's talking with PJ and Saraya and I can see him flirting shameless with her.

Saraya, thankfully, is ignoring TJ. She's laughing with PJ. "Hey, Nattie!" She calls to me. She ignores Nicole.

"Hey," I say to my fellow _Total Divas_ cast member. I try not to take my annoyance out on her. It's TJ doing something wrong after all. I wedge myself closer to him and remind him who he's married to with a quick kiss.

"Sup?" TJ asks me. Then he goes right back to talking to Saraya and PJ. Seriously? This man…

I sigh internally. This man is my childhood sweetheart, literally the _only_ man I've ever loved. I'm probably overreacting, but the way TJ is bouncing off the walls, it's like something's changed in him. He gets like this sometimes, and I'm always paranoid he's having an affair or something. Then again, a small part of me wonders if I'd be better off. Still, I have no idea where I'd be without him.

"We're gonna go get something to eat," TJ tells me. "You wanna come?"

"Um… Sure," I say awkwardly. I'm not really in a partying mood tonight. "Nicole, do you and John want to come?"

"John's got plans tonight, but I'd love to," Nicole tells me. She flashes a flirtatious look at PJ. He grins back with all his charm. Sometimes I wonder if PJ realizes half the girls here have a thing for him or if he's really just oblivious. He's a sweet guy either way.

We walk toward our destination. TJ stops short and knocks into me and I nearly fall over, but a random hand steadies me. "You okay?" He asks. I look up and see Dean Ambrose.

I don't know Dean that well. He keeps to himself sometimes. He's a very private guy. Tonight, I look into his eyes for the first time, and I'm briefly distracted. I recover quickly, not sure what's wrong with me. "Yeah," I say. "Thanks."

He nods and walks away from us. TJ looks annoyed. "I hate that guy," he says. He could be using the time to apologize for bumping into me, but he wouldn't be TJ if he did that. The old TJ might have done that, but this new one is arrogant and never apologizes for anything.

I look at him, the man I love, and I don't know what I'm going to do anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

 _ **DEAN**_

I'm hanging out waiting for lunch and bored out of my mind. Normally, I'd be eating with Colby or Joe, but Joe's still out on injury and Colby is doing some promotional shit for Crossfit. As the burger and fries are put in front of me, I realize it's probably better. Colby would be lecturing me about how unhealthy this shit is. Guess what, Colby? I'm a street kid. This is a fucking five-star meal for me. At least it's not fast food.

I look up from my food long enough to see a few people come in. It's Nattie and that fucktard husband of hers, Tyson Kidd. He's got a real name, I'm sure, but I could care less what it is. Justin Gabriel's with them. I watch as Tyson talks to Justin and I notice Nattie is silent. She looks way too sad for a girl who kicks that much ass in the ring. I have no idea why she stays with a guy who makes her look that sad.

Since I'm bored, I watch them for a bit. Nattie actually orders some kind of burger with fries. I am impressed. Most of the Divas won't eat like that. April has a bit of a pizza fettish, but she's naturally tiny and doesn't seem to need to worry about weight gain. The other Divas all panic at greasy, fattening food. I've seen them backstage baring touching the catering. I hardly pay attention to them, but I do notice things like that. In fact, one of the Bellas... whichever one has smaller tits and no ass... freaks out if her food isn't vegan. It must be the one Bryan's shacked up with. I barely remember who's who most days. Honestly, I hooked up with both of them at one point or another. I'm pretty sure Nikki's the plastic one. Whatever.

Nattie notices me looking at her and flashes me a quick smile. It lights up her face. She doesn't look like that around Tyson. I nod in her direction. I don't do warm, fuzzy smiles across the distance. I'm too hardened for shit like that.

To my surprise, Tyson follows her smile and sees me. He glares. I'm smiling _now_ as I casually flip him off. The look on his face is priceless. I notice Nattie bites her lip to hide either a smile or an outright laugh.

"What's your _problem_?" Tyson asks me.

"Nothing, dude. That's just how I say hello," I tell him.

Justin isn't as cautious as Nattie, and he actually _does_ laugh. "You've got issues, Ambrose," he tells me.

"Issues? Nah, man, I _wrote_ the damn magazines." I look at Nattie and just to get under Tyson's skin some more, I add, "Nice to see you, Nattie." I get up and go pay my bill before leaving.

Okay, so _that_ was mildly entertaining. My phone rings and I see it's an Uso. Yeah, I can't tell that set of twins apart, either, unless Trinity's hanging all over her husband. The number's listed as Johnny, but it could easily be Josh.

"What's up?" I answer. The Usos have been stalking me since Joe's surgery. I think he asked them to watch my back or something.

"Hey, wanna meet up for food?" He asks.

"I just ate," I reply.

"Eat some more. We need to talk, Uce."

"I'm not your uce," I point out.

"You're Joe's uce, and he's ours."

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you assume something is wrong?"

"Your wording." I'm kind of freaking out. Is Joe in trouble? Did something go wrong with his surgery? Does he need another one? A thousand possibilities race through my mind, none of them good.

"Stop freaking out," he tells me. "It's not that serious. Just come."

"Where?" He gives me the location. I hurry to it.

Johnny and Josh are there, but Trinity's not. "Who's who?" I ask.

The one in red says, "Josh." He waves. They are used to needing to identify themselves. Unlike the Bellas, they _are_ identical, so most people can't identify them on sight.

"So what's going on?"

"Do you know a girl named Maddie?" Johnny asks.

"Maybe? I know a lotta girls. I don't always catch names."

"She's hanging around swearing she's your new girlfriend and threatening other fans."

"She's batshit, Uce," Josh adds. He points at a girl trying to hide her face at a table near us. "And following you."

Maddie has long, curly brown hair and a body I recognize, even if I can't see her face. _Crap,_ I think. It's the ring rat whose clothes I gave to April.

"Um, yeah... We met once," I say.

The Usos exchange knowing glances with one another. "I thought you avoided your crazy fangirls?" Johnny asks.

"I was drunk. She's just a ring rat."

"That's a terrible term," Trinity says disapprovingly. She snuck over to us while I was looking at Maddie. Renee is with her. _God,_ I hate Renee. She's constantly starting rumors on social media that we're dating. I've given up on trying to stop that. I mean, fuck, you share a few cabs with a girl and everyone assumes you're dating. I don't date. For the record, she gets on my last nerve, but I don't care enough to stop her from spreading lies. It's too much work. "It's a sexist, disrespectful thing the guys say to justify treating a girl like shit after they use her for sex."

"Trin, chill," Johnny says.

"Don't ever let me hear _you_ calling some girl that."

"Do you prefer 'hoe' or 'skank,' then?" I ask.

"Woman. I prefer _woman_."

"She threw herself at me, is threatening fans, and appears to be stalking me."

"Fine, _psycho_ then." She shakes her head.

"I got this," Renee says. She walks over to the girl looking as dangerous as an actual wrestler and says, "Bitch, quit stalking my man!" She looks at me. I decide Renee's psychotic attention seeking might be useful for once and I nod.

Maddie looks horrified. She recovers and tries to hit Renee, but Trinity steps between them. Maddie leaves, defeated.

"Thanks," I reluctantly tell Renee.

"No problem." She smiles at me and I know I'm going to regret letting her help me later.

"Treat your women better and maybe this won't happen, Ambrose," Trinity tells me. She kisses Johnny before dragging Renee away.

"Yo, Trin was _pissed,_ Uce," Josh tells Johnny.

"When isn't she, Uce?" Johnny replies. He laughs like it's no big deal. "Sorry she got all up in your business, Dean. She does that."

"Whatever," I say. "Thanks for warning me, guys."

"You're family," Josh says. "We protect our own." It's weird that they say shit like that to me. Joe's my brother, but not by blood, so it's strange how the Samoans have adopted me. I never had much of a family before. My dad wasn't a dad and my mom was a drug addict whose boyfriends were all assholes. I'd had no choice but to run away from all of that as a kid. The first person I ever really considered family was Sami, followed by Colby and Joe. I never expected wrestling to give me a family, but it did.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I have to stop thinking about my childhood bullshit. It just fucks with my head.

 _ **NATTIE**_

Today has really sucked so far. TJ's been in a foul mood since Dean flipped him off, and he won't stop snapping at me. When we get to the arena, he shoves past me so he gets inside first. Then he drags me toward Claudio by my arm. It hurts as I try to pull it free, but he holds it tighter.

"So, we're tagging tonight," Claudio says. "This is becoming a thing..."

"Yeah, man, we rock together," TJ says. He's all smiles and enthusiasm now, and he lets me pull my arm away.

"Nattie. Good to see you," Claudio says politely.

I like Claudio. He's talented and is always polite to me. "Good to see you, too," I reply.

TJ and Claudio quickly get caught up in planning their match. I walk away, fairly certain TJ doesn't even notice. When I get to the catering area, I see Trinity and wave hello to her. She greets me with a warm hug. I genuinely like Trinity. She's not superficial like some of the other girls.

"Is everything okay?" She asks me.

"Yeah," I lie. "Everything's great." I don't like airing my dirty laundry in public. Some things have made it onto _Total Divas,_ but most of what the audience gets to see is scripted or edited. The truth is, my relationship is even worse than people know, but I stick with TJ because I love him. For the longest time, our suns rose and set on each other, but it's looking more and more like that's no longer the case. Sometimes I wonder if getting married was a mistake. We were happier before.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Trinity asks with concern.

"I know. But I'm fine. Really." If I say it enough times, I may even start to believe it.

I wander away and go get ready for the show. I'm not wrestling tonight, but I'm playing TJ's valet. I get dressed quickly and make sure I'm all smiles when I step outside. No one needs to know how I'm feeling. My job is to entertain and play my role, and right now, my role is that of a supportive wife.

As his music starts to play, TJ looks excited. It's sort of cute how pumped he gets when he's in performance mode. He goes out and I follow him, making him look good as I stand by his side. The role of the valet is to support their partner, distract referees and opponents when necessary, and cheat if you're working as a heel, which I am.

They're fighting a couple of local independent wrestlers tonight. It's always fun to see the young talent come in as jobbers. They get so excited by everything. These two kids are no exception. They last about four and a half minutes, which is impressive for jobbers, but in the end, Claudio pins one of them.

TJ is jumping around the ring celebrating like he got the pin. I stand by his side, holding his arm up in victory. He smiles at me briefly before putting on a good show for the fans. They're responding well to Claudio and TJ together, and I think WWE may actually make them a real tag team. If they do that, TJ will finally be back on the main roster with me. I'm thrilled by the idea. Maybe that will ease our problems. Besides, he deserves it. He's worked so hard to get back in shape after hurting his knee. I'm proud of him.

Backstage, TJ and Claudio celebrate while I introduce myself to the jobbers. "You two did great," I tell them.

"Thanks," the one who didn't get pinned says.

"Holy shit, Natalya just talked to us," the other one says. I laugh.

"It's good to meet you. What are your names?"

"I'm Tim, and he's John," the first one says.

"I hope to see your guys back here one day. You've got what it takes." It's a habit of mine to be nice to local talent. They need the encouragement, and a lot of them really are the next generation. I fully support training the new kids. If we're going to keep this business going, they're the future of it. I smile at them one more time before excusing myself.

I accidently bump into someone backstage. I'm not a clumsy person, I swear, but lately I have been getting dizzy more often. I should probably get that checked, but between wrestling and _Total Divas,_ I barely have any time. He steadies me and I realize it's Dean Ambrose again.

"We have to stop meeting like this," I tell him. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool," he says. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I smile at him. "Thanks for catching me."

"No problem." His eye catches the bruise TJ left on my arm earlier tonight and I see something flash on his face that I can't quite identify. He looks into my eyes and asks, "Who grabbed your arm, Nattie?"

I force myself to look away. "I don't know," I say. "It must have happened during the match when I interfered."

"That bruise looks a little older than that." I'm positive he knows it was TJ, but he doesn't call me on it. He's waiting for me to say something, but I can't. What happens between us is private, and besides, it's not like TJ was _trying_ to bruise me. He just gets overly physical sometimes, especially when he's stressed out.

"I should get going," I say, forcing myself to sound cheerful.

"Right," Dean says. He's watching me carefully as I walk away. I really hope he doesn't try to push this issue with me. I don't want any trouble. Dean's obviously a nice guy, but TJ won't like it if he tries to get involved in our personal lives.

 _ **DEAN**_

 _That fucking bastard,_ I think. It's obvious Nattie's husband hurt her. I wonder how deep it goes, how often he's done shit like this to her. Rage builds inside me as I think about the possibility that he's hurt her before. All I want to do is kick his ass.

"Dean?" Colby asks me. He's found me backstage and I snap back to reality. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah," I say. "Just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself," he teases me.

"Fuck you. Come on, we both need to get ready."

We walk into the locker room and get ready to go kick some ass. The thought is a nice distraction from my concern for Nattie. I know an abused woman when I see one. I try to stay out of everyone's bullshit at WWE, but this… I don't know if I can stay out of this. I like Nattie. I don't want to see her get hurt.

I can't fully force the thought out of my head even as I enter the ring. I don't know why Nattie matters to me, but she does. I decide I'll have to explore that later, when I'm not about to beat the crap out of someone. I pretend I'm facing TJ and get ready to kick some serious ass.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE  
**

 _ **NATTIE**_

TJ and I are running late as usual. PJ's with us as we hurry to the airport. We run into a bunch of the other wrestlers, so I know we haven't missed our flight. I call AJ Lee over to us, because I really want to congratulate her on her awesome match.

"AJ, I'm so glad I caught you," I say. "I wanted to tell you your match with Alicia was great last night. You both brought out the best in each other."

"Thanks," AJ says.

"They need to showcase her more. She's good, and you know I think you're great."

"That means a lot to me," she says.

"I think you're great, too," TJ chimes in. He looks at her intensely and I wonder what that's all about, but I decide not to be jealous.

She excuses herself and walks away. I focus on getting on the plane and heading where we need to go.

PJ is looking at AJ weirdly. I wonder why. When TJ walks away, I ask him, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," PJ says quickly. "I just don't talk to AJ much. She's great, though."

"Are you crushing on her or something?" I tease.

"No, nothing like that. She's cute, though, I have to admit."

I immediately imagine the two of them together, because I'm a hopeless romantic, but then I remember she's married to someone else. It's easy to forget CM Punk when he's not around because no one is to mention his name, lest we be fined for it.

I push the thoughts out of my head as we walk toward the boarding area.

 _ **DEAN**_

I hate flying, I hate planes, I hate all of this. I force myself to relax as we head toward our destination. I can see April is curled up on Colby's shoulder and sleeping. I suspect it's the first time she's gotten any

real rest since she got attacked.

We get to the hotel and get settled. Jericho's in town, so there's a party up in his suite. Colby convinces me we should go.

We're up at the party and Colby won't relax. He's nervous and keeps looking at his watch. "Do you think I should check on her?" He asks. He's obsessing about April.

"She'll call if she needs you, man. You need to try and relax. You demanded I come here tonight, so you had better have some fucking fun, alright?" I'm not letting his break down because the girl he likes has issues.

"Right." He takes a drink, but doesn't actually drink it.

Jericho throws one hell of a party. Everyone's talking and hanging out and having fun and being stupid. It may not be as much fun as a CZW party, but we're all having a good time. At least, _most_ of us are. I spot Nattie in the corner by herself looking stressed.

"I'll be back," I tell Colby. I walk over to her. "Hey, what's up?" I ask.

"Oh, hi Dean," she says, immediately plastering a smile on her face. Her eyes are still worried.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What's the matter?"

She sighs. "Chris wouldn't let the NXT people come tonight, so TJ sort of threw a tantrum. I told him it wouldn't be a big deal, that Chris would let him in because he's part of the Hart Dynasty, but that just made him angrier…"

I automatically check her for any obvious marks, but I don't see any new bruises. "He's a douche, Nattie. I'm sorry, I know he's your husband, but he needs to grow up."

"He means well…" She looks so sad, I just want to hug her. So I do.

I pull her against me and I say, "He may mean well, but he doesn't have a right to be a dick to you. Just remember that, okay?"

She nods. "Thanks, Dean. I'm alright, really."

"You want to dance?" I ask with a mischievous grin. She has no idea where this is going.

She raises an eyebrow at that. "You dance?"

"Hell yeah."

"Sure." She smiles and waits for my lead.

I start spazzing out. I'm dancing like a lunatic in a psych ward, just having fun and not giving a damn how retarded I look because I know it's making her smile. She's trying not to laugh as she watches me. I pull her toward me and make her dance with me, moving her arms in the same frenzy I'm caught up in.

Nattie's laughing now, and she's relaxing. I'm thrilled I could make her smile. That means a lot to me, even if I don't know why.

Her phone goes off and she frowns. "I should go," she says. "Thanks, Dean. This was really fun." The smile is back on her face. She kisses my cheek and walks away.

I'm feeling strangely happy after that. I decide the party no longer interests me, and since Colby clearly doesn't want to be here, we leave and head back to his room. We're only there for a few minutes when there is a knock on the door. Colby goes to answer it and I spot Rosa Whatsherface and April.

I get a good look at her and say, "Fuck." She looks like she's just fought for her life. I can tell Rosa tried to clean her up, but it's bad.

Colby panics. "April, my God, what happened?" He asks as he guides her inside. She dismisses Rosa and Colby wraps her in his arms. She starts to cry.

"Can I stay with you? Please?" She asks. Her voice is shaky and quiet and she sounds like a scared little girl.

"Of course you can. I'll take the couch." He scoops her up and carries her to his bed, laying her down and covering her. "Who did this?" He asks gently.

April shakes her head. We're quiet for a while as she seems to fall asleep. I look at Colby and whisper what I'm thinking. "Dude, it's a wrestler. It has to be. That's why she won't talk." There's no other way this could keep happening.

"We can't let this keep happening," Colby whispers. "She has to tell us who it is."

"She won't until she's ready. All we can do is watch her and make sure she's not alone." I'm planning ways to pull that off as I say it. I feel terrible for her. I can't leave her alone in this mess. She needs our help.

"I left her alone," Colby sobs. "I shouldn't have gone to that stupid party."

"This isn't your fault, man. You couldn't have known."

"I should have been with her."

My heart breaks for the guy. I can see how much this is hurting him. "Be with her now, man," I say. "She came to you for help. Twice. She obviously trusts you and doesn't blame you."

I really hope he can come to understand that, because right now, it's clear he thinks this is all his fault. I look at April, asleep and in bad shape, and all I can think is we need to save her. Whatever's going on is going to stop, no matter what we have to do.

 _ **NATTIE**_

When I got back to the hotel room, TJ was in a much better mood. He was downright hyper and cheerful and I'm relieved that it seems to last. I wonder if he's been drinking, but he seems sober.

"Are we okay?" I ask him after a while.

"We're better than okay, Babe. We're great," he tells me giddily. "Living the good life!"

I smile and try to hold on to the hope that this is a good sign. TJ falls asleep after a little while. I'm used to him ignoring me, but I hate when it happens. I wish his good mood extended to him paying some sort of attention to me, but at least we aren't fighting. I'll take what I can get.

Eventually, I curl up beside him and try to fall asleep. A million things run through my head. I wonder if TJ is cheating on me. I've worried about that before, unfortunately. He seems so uninterested in me, but somehow while we weren't together, his mood improved significantly. I also can't stop thinking about Dean. He was so sweet to me tonight, and it really helped life my spirits. Is that a bad thing? Does it make me a bad person? I'm not sure, but as I fall asleep, it's not TJ who is on my mind. Instead, I see Dean going out of his way to "dance" and make me laugh, and for the first time in a while, I'm totally relaxed.


	4. Chapter 4

**FOUR**

 _ **DEAN**_

The following night, Nikki Bella tries to kill April. At least, that's how it looks to me. April is backstage flipping out as the trainers try to check her out. She starts swatting at everyone, even Triple H, and all I can think is I need to intervene before this escalates.

Colby tries to calm her. "April, stop! They're just trying to help you!" He says. He's holding her hand. She calms down slightly.

I take her other hand. "No one's gonna hurt you," I promise. "You're safe. We're here. Taylor's here. Brie and Bryan are here. You're okay." April nods and stops fighting, so I get out of the way and let everyone do their jobs. They determine pretty quickly that she's got a bad concussion. It looks like she's going to be out for a while.

Taylor stays with her while Colby and I have our match. It goes by in a blur. When we go back, we shower in shifts, making sure April has constant company. Her phone rings and she immediately starts getting stressed out. I realize it's her douchebag of a husband. I finally decide I've had enough. I grab her phone.

"Shut up, Asshat!" I tell him after I've listened to April argue with him for a bit. "She has a fucking head injury. Yelling at her won't help. Now get the fuck off her phone and let her rest!"

"Who the fuck is this?" CM Dickbag demands.

"Who do you _think_ it is, Dumbass?" I reply. I hang up. April is staring at me as I return her phone to her. I shrug. "He was annoying me… Clearly labeled for your protection, remember?" I point at my Unstable t-shirt and she laughs.

"Thanks. He's just overprotective," she tells me.

"He's a douche looking for new ways to sue the company that he called home for years, but that's not the point. You just don't need any more stress."

Colby rejoins us, and I let it go. I know he's got her back.

 _ **NATTIE**_

Nicole is rambling about how unfair it is that she's in trouble for attacking April. All I can think is that she really hurt her, and she's out of control.

"It looked bad, Nicole," I point out.

"Whatever. AJ Lee is a drama queen just like her bitch of a husband," she insists.

I shift the conversation slightly. "Do you think you'll be punished for it?"

"I don't know. Stephanie says I'm not suspended, but she's really pissed off. It's so stupid."

"Why did you do it?"

"Hel _lo_? That little bitch is totally trying to steal my sister's husband!"

I snort. "Are you kidding? Come on, Nicole, there's no way April's into Bryan."

"They dated."

"Yeah, and they broke up because it was too weird. You're reading way too much into it. They're just good friends."

"She's a slut. Everyone knows that." It's sort of ironic for Nicole to call someone that, since nearly everyone feels that way about _her_ , but I let it go.

"Come on," I tell her. "Let's get out of here for a little while." We head to a restaurant and I relax as the alcohol arrives. Nicole's much easier to deal with when there's alcohol involved.

"So, how's TJ?" She asks me.

"Oh, you know… He's TJ," I reply.

"Still trouble in paradise?"

"It's not good." I sigh. "I'm starting to think he's cheating on me."

"He might be." I stare at her and she realizes how harsh she just sounded. "Sorry, Nattie. I just mean, he's acting suspiciously and he's been such a jerk to you lately. It's possible he's messing around with someone else."

"I can't think about that. We've been together for so long… I don't know what I'd do if he left me."

"Don't worry about that right now. If the jerk is cheating on you, cut it off while he sleeps and move on, right?"

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

"True, but it would solve your problems." She grins at me. "Nattie, you need a break. Let's go out to a club tonight."

"I can't. TJ's expecting me to come back in a little while."

"He's not your father. He can't give you a curfew. Come on, Nattie. You _used_ to be fun."

That stings a little. I sigh. "I guess we can go out for a _little_ bit."

She lights up and claps her hands together. "Yay! I'll call Brie. It'll be fun."

 _Sure,_ I think, but I'm dreading this. It's not that I don't like hanging out with the twins. As much as they can be bitches, we work together a lot, and they're my friends. Brie's actually pretty sweet most of the time, and Nicole has her good side, but I'm just not a party animal like they are. Don't get me wrong. I'm not the prudish stick-in-the-mud that _Total Divas_ paints me as with the magic of editing, but I'm not exactly wild, either. Maybe it's because the twins are American and I'm Canadian and there's a cultural difference, but I don't find partying all night with a bunch of strangers to be all that exciting.

We head to a club a little while later. I'm barely there for five minutes before TJ starts chain texting me demanding to know where I am, who I'm with, and why the hell I haven't come back to our hotel room. I'm starting to get stressed out now. I sigh. This is going to be a long night.

 _ **DEAN**_

I'm driving around town because I can't fucking sleep. I think I'm going in circles. I finally spot a familiar face walking along a fairly empty street. I pull up beside her.

"Hey," I say after I roll down the window. "Where are you heading?"

Nattie looks up at me in surprise. "Hey," she replies. "I'm just going back to the hotel."

"Hop in."

"Dean, I shouldn't."

"Why not? We're staying at the same hotel. I was heading back there anyway." That's a lie, but I guess it's where I'm heading now. It's not like I had any actual plans or anything.

"Look, that's sweet of you, but I'm fine walking. The twins were supposed to split a cab with me, but they didn't want to leave, and TJ kept texting so I decided I should head back early."

I study her. "Right. Sorry. I didn't mean to overstep. You barely know me, right? I just thought, you know, maybe you'd like a lift so you weren't out on the street by yourself in the middle of the night. You're famous, Nattie. Crazy people might hurt you, so why not let an even _crazier_ person help you out?"

She realizes I've got a good point. "Alright. Thank you, Dean." She gets in the car. I wait for her to buckle up before driving away. The radio's playing and that's the only thing filling the awkward silence.

"TJ won't like this," she says finally.

"TJ doesn't need to know how you got home. It's just a ride, Nattie. It's not like I'm kissing you or anything."

She nods. We sit in further silence. Suddenly, one of my anthems comes on and I'm hating the silence, so I decide, _Fuck it, she probably already thinks I'm a weirdo,_ and I start singing at the top of my lungs.

" _We're not gonna take it… No, we ain't gonna take it. We're not gonna take it anymoooooooooooore!"_ I sing. Nattie looks at me and cracks up. I keep going. _"We've got the right to choosing. There ain't no way we're losing. This is our life. This is our song! We'll fight the Powers That Be just don't pick our destiny cause you don't know us, you don't belong!"_ I start drumming along on the steering wheel as I continue singing and head-banging. _"We're not gonna take it! No we ain't gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymoooooooore!"_

To my surprise, Nattie comes in with, _"Oh, you're so condescending! Your gall is never ending. We don't want nothing, not a thing from you!"_

I get over my shock and smile, starting to sing along with her. _"Your life is trite and jaded, boring and confiscated. If that's your best, your best won't do! Whoa-ooo-ooo, whoa-ooo-ooo! We're right, yeah! We're free, yeah! We'll fight, yeah! You'll seeeeeee! Whoa, whoa, we're not gonna take it… No, we ain't gonna take it. We're not gonna take it anymoooooooooooore!"_ This continues for a bit before we hit the next part.

" _Just you try and make us!"_ Nattie proclaims.

I'm laughing hard as we keep singing the chorus and she chimes in with the spoken parts, saying, _"Come on… You're all worthless and weak… Now drop and give me twenty! A pledge pin… Oh, you and your uniform…"_

She finally joins me on the last, _"We're not gonna take it anymooooore!"_

We're both laughing together and I realize I _really_ like her laugh. It's kind of sexy. I smirk at her. "That was… _fun_ ," she says.

"Fun's my middle name," I say with a grin.

"Dean..." She seems shy suddenly. "Can we do that again sometime? I haven't laughed that hard in ages."

"Anytime, Nattie," I promise. I kind of like the idea of us singing together again.

We reach the hotel and she looks sad suddenly. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine," she says quickly. "Thank you so much for the ride, Dean. I really appreciate it." She leaves before I can protest. I wonder what's going on with her. I kind of want to punch TJ, one because I really dislike that guy, and two because I hate seeing her upset and I'm convince he's the cause. I try to shake it off and head back to my room, determined to get some kind of rest.

That lasts for about ten seconds. If he were here, I'd turn around and head to Joe's room. Normally, I'd just knock on the door, he'd open it and look at me and he'd know I couldn't sleep. Joe's used to my insomnia. He would toss me a can of coke and motion for me to sit down. He knows I won't sleep until I wind down, so he'd stays up with me, because that's what brothers do for each other. I don't tell him often enough, but I'm really grateful I have Joe in my life.

I can't go to his room because he's still out on injury, so instead I call him. I dislike technology, but I'll use it for some people, and he's one of them. I know I woke him up, but he doesn't care. I settle in and start rambling about the events of the night. Joe is furious to hear April got hurt. He's also interested in what happened with Nattie. He asks me if there's more to it, and I am not sure how to answer. I like Nattie a lot, but she's married, and I'm sure she doesn't see me as anything other than a friend. I'm fine with that. At least I think I am.

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_ _I am so sorry it's taken so long for me to post this chapter. I have more fics going than I can juggle right now and the others demanded my attention. I'm going to try to work on these_ Shining _fics more frequently from now on. Thanks for being patient with me!_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

 _ **NATTIE**_

I have a match tonight with the Bellas. We're tagging against Ariane, Ashley, and Danielle. I really don't like Ariane or Danielle much. Ariane is too much like her Cameron character, and that gets annoying after a while. Sure, she's funny, but she thinks she knows better than everyone else and she picks fights. Danielle and I may not hate each other the way they portray the _Nattie Vs. Summer Rae Battle_ on _Total Divas_ , but we're not exactly friends. She can be a real pain in my butt sometimes. Ashley's alright, I guess. I mean, I have known her for years. She's Ric Flair's daughter, and she's very talented, but she still has a long way to go and it's like she expects everything to just be hers because she was born into the right family. I've got news for her. _I_ was born into a _dynasty_ (like, _the_ dynasty, really), and even _I_ had to work for my shot in WWE. It's not something that should just be handed to a person. Then again, when I started, the Divas Division was different.

I flash back to my early days as a Diva. I worked closely with Beth Phoenix and Melina, both of whom I adore. Mickie James and Maria and Maryse and all of them were actively wrestling at the time. I was close to all of the girls. Then the twins joined the roster, and everything changed.

Nicole and Brie bullied every female on the roster. They made fun of Mickie's weight, even though she wasn't fat or anything. They pushed Melina and Barbie Blank and Maria until all of them quit. They picked on Kia Stevens in the cruelest way possible right after her debut as Kharma because she found out she was pregnant. Tragically, Kia's baby was stillborn, and she never returned to WWE. In the end, Beth was pretty much the last Diva standing, and then she got pregnant with Adam's baby, and she left, too. (Beth Phoenix and Edge… Who would have thought, right?) Their daughter is Beth's entire life, and I don't think she'll be back any time soon.

And so, the era of the Bellas began. I tried to adapt to that. I changed my image a little. I had to play less hard because most of the remaining Divas couldn't handle what I could dish out. I'm the only female to ever graduate from the Hart Dungeon, and I'm damn proud of that fact. Because of that training, I fight hard. I wrestle like one of the boys, and the girls today can't handle it, so I have to hold back. I hate it. I miss being able to show the world that I can fight just as well as the boys. I used to dress differently, too, but as the Bellas took control, WWE wanted me to dress sexier to keep up. I swear, I wear less and less clothing every week, and that bothers me. But I have to adapt if I want to stay here, so I do. When Nicole and Brie were cast for _Total Divas_ and they decided they wanted a "veteran," I jumped at the chance because I thought it would be good for my career. I may have gained a few fans from it, but I really hate the show. It portrays me in a terrible light and it bothers me that everyone thinks that's what I'm really like. On top of that, my relationship is out there for everyone to see, and I feel pathetic every time they show me throwing myself at TJ and him ignoring me.

"So, this is what you're wearing tonight," Nicole tells me, interrupting my thoughts. She hands me a skin-tight black leather outfit that will make me look like a dominatrix. There's a heart shape outlined in pink and cut out over my chest.

I sigh. "Really?" I ask. "Is that necessary?"

"Come on, Nattie! You're going to look _so_ hot in this!"

"I don't get a say, do I?"

"Paul insisted."

"Of course he did. Fine." I take the outfit and grudgingly put it on.

A little while later, our entrance music plays. We're coming out to the Bellas' music, even though I've been here longer than they have. That's just how it goes. The Bellas are the main attraction.

I stop feeling so angsty as the match starts. I'm nothing if not professional. Nikki starts the match off. She goes for Ariane right away. Ari doesn't have a very big move set, so Nikki has to carry her. It's not that Nikki's got so many moves, but she's better than Ari is right now. They brought Ari up from development way too soon and she's still got so much to learn. I think everyone but Ari knows it, too.

Nikki nearly gets a pin on Ariane, but Ashley jumps in to break it up. Ari desperately crawls to the corner to tag in Danielle.

The really sad thing is, Dani has a _lot_ of moves. I may not get along with her, but she's extremely talented. Creative has just condemned her to being nothing more than a valet, and that's a shame. I don't understand what happened to her. She was red-hot down at NXT, but then they made her start dancing with Fandango, and her career went to hell. Because of this, she doesn't get to do much in this match. She does a hair-pull mat slam on Nikki, who barely escapes to tag in her sister.

Brie… Well, she doesn't have many moves. In fact, she has even less moves than Nikki. The one thing she has going for her is she has mastered her husband's signature, the _Yes! Lock,_ and the fans love watching her do it. She's actually gotten very good at that one. Brie could be fantastic in the ring, but she has no meat on her bones to lend her power behind her hits and she doesn't really work to get any better now that WWE has decided to let her coast by on her looks. I love Brie. Really, I do. But she's just not what a WWE Diva should be. What we _used_ to be.

I watch as Brie tries to hit Dani with a Running Knee, but Dani dodges it and instead hits Brie with a Lotus Lock. She wasn't supposed to do that, because Creative doesn't want Dani doing much of anything and because above all else, the Bellas are always supposed to look strong. Brie is thrown off by this. I do what any professional should and I jump in to break up the hold. Dani looks disappointed. I can't say I blame her. If I were in her position, I might have stolen that moment, too.

I get Brie to the corner and tag myself in. Ashley immediately tags in and attacks me. I like wrestling Ashley. She's still learning, sure, but she's getting better every day. She hits me quickly with a knife edge chop. I hit Nattie-By-Nature. Ashley recovers quickly and attacks me with a swinging neckbreaker. I go down and she pins me, but I kick out at two. I shift things by hitting a wheelbarrow suplex. We go back and forth, trading moves for a bit. I'm getting really into it now as my adrenaline gets going. Ashley and I are both on fire tonight. I stop holding back a bit and keep going. At first, she's fine, but then I hit a power slam hard. She stays down and I pin her.

Ashley's supposed to kick out, but she doesn't. The referee is counting slowly intentionally. Dani and Ari seems to realize something's gone wrong because they both jump in and knock me off of her. I position myself so I'm close enough to her face to whisper, "You okay, Ash?"

She looks like she's seeing stars. She shakes her head. "Can you get to the corner?" I ask. Nikki and Brie are fighting with Ari and Dani to keep the match going so no one pays too much attention to the two of us. Ashley nods. "Do it. Tag in anyone."

Slowly, she crawls. She reaches for the first hand she can find. It's Dani, and she jumps back into the ring. I hurry to tag in Nikki. She hits a headscissor takedown. Somehow, Dani kicks out of that, so Nikki pulls her up into the Rack Attack. After about thirty seconds, Dani frantically starts tapping and Nikki unceremoniously drops her.

The match is over. We celebrate our win, and I hope Ashley's okay. When we get backstage, I see she's getting checked out. "I just hit my back the wrong way," Ashley tells me. "I'll be fine, Nattie."

"Are you sure? I'm sorry, Ashley…" I say.

"It's my fault. I landed it bad. I'm good." She seems fine, so I let it go. I spot TJ and head over to him.

"Great match," he tells Nicole. He ignores me.

"TJ!" I call.

"Oh, hey Nat," he says.

"Did you enjoy my match?" I ask.

"Yeah, yeah, it was great… Nikki got a great win there. You fucked up with Ashley, though. Is she okay?"

I can't believe him sometimes. "She's fine."

"Seriously, Nicole, that Rack Attack gets me every time! Great job!" He hugs her. Then he hurries away, leaving me completely flustered and frustrated.

"Wow. What a dick," Brie says. I happen to agree with her right now. "You know what you need, Nattie? You need liquor."

"Brie Mode?" Nicole asks hopefully.

" _Totally_ Brie Mode," Brie agrees.

"No, I really shouldn't-" I start to argue.

"Which is why you're going to," Brie tells me. She takes one of my arms and links it through hers. Nicole takes the other one.

"I have the _perfect_ outfit for you! Come on back to my room, and we'll get ready for some fun," Nicole says. The twins drag me away and I'm fairly concerned about what they might think is fun.

 _ **DEAN**_

My match is done and April's having a girl's night or some shit, so I don't have to worry about her tonight. I decide to go let off some steam. I find the nearest karaoke bar and proceed to order a drink. Then I watch other people make asses of themselves for a bit while I debate what song to embarrass myself with tonight.

I hear a song with a great beat come on. I recognize it as _Black Velvet,_ a true classic. The lights are dim and the mood is perfect. I look up and see a blonde figure entering the stage area. She's got on an extremely tight black halter top and black leather pants. She's also wearing a pair of hooker boots. I'm startled when she starts to sing. Her voice is so sultry and sexy… And _familiar_. As she raises her head and looks out at the crowd, my jaw drops in shock.

 _Holy shit,_ I think. _Nattie's giving me very bad thoughts right now!_

I hear two giggling women nearby and realize the Bellas are sitting at a table not too far away. As Nattie sings, I listen intently, hypnotized by her voice and the way she's moving on stage. She looks right at me as she sings, " _Always wanting more. He's leave you longing for black velvet and that little boy's smile. Black velvet with that slow southern style. A new religion that'll bring you to your knees. Black velvet, if you please…"_

"I think she likes you," Brie teases me. She wiggles her finger at me, indicating she wants me to join her and Nikki. I hate the Bellas, but I can't help but be curious how this metamorphosis of Nattie has happened, so I do it.

Nattie's still looking right at me as she continues, _"The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true… Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for…"_

"Nattie's totally into you right now," Nikki tells me.

"Sure. She's just singing to a familiar face," I say. "What the fuck did you two _do_ to her, anyway?"

"I just found her an outfit," Nikki says innocently.

"And I gave her a drink," Brie says.

I look at Nattie, swaying on stage seductively, and I skeptically ask, " _A_ drink?"

Brie laughs. "Okay, so maybe it was more like _ten_ drinks… Shots, to be exact…"

"Brie Mode!" Nikki declares. God, these two are idiots. But occasionally, they're _fun_ idiots.

"You have to admit, she's awesome right now," Brie says.

"And she looks hot, right?"

"Oh, she _definitely_ looks hot," I admit, "but this is _so_ not Nattie. Seriously, she's going to kill you two in the morning."

"I doubt she'll even _remember_ this tomorrow," Brie argues.

Nattie comes off the stage with the microphone and comes toward me. She pulls me toward her as she sings, _"Black velvet and that little boy smile. Black velvet and that slow southern style. A new religion that'll bring you to your knees… Black velvet, if you please! If you pleeeeease…."_

My body reacts to her touch. I literally have goosebumps. I've never wanted someone quite so badly. I try to ignore it because she's plastered and I remind myself that she's a married woman. She makes her way back to the stage so she can relinquish the microphone. People applaud. The Bellas and I are the loudest applause of all.

Nattie walks back to us and I say, "Damn, Nattie… I mean, seriously, _damn."_ I want to kiss her or maybe just bring her back to my hotel room, but I control myself. "That was amazing."

"Thanks, Dean," she says. "Are _you_ going to sing for us tonight?"

"Sure," I say. She smiles, and I suddenly want to do anything to keep her smiling just like that, so I go to the stage and submit my selection.

The music starts and I get in the zone. I love karaoke, especially the drunken sort. Music helps me escape myself. That's important sometimes. I go for my old favorite, a song that will always remind me of my CZW days, when my drunken stupidity was at its highest. I cut a drunk promo using this song, and it's still my favorite promo ever. It also never fails to make everyone laugh, especially when I intentionally go over the top and sing it slightly off-key.

" _Where it began… I can't begin to knowing. But then I know it's growing strong."_ Yep, seeing Nattie like this has made me feel just like this song always does… I look right at her the way she was looking at me as I sing, _"Was in the spring, and spring became summer, who'd have believed you'd come along? Hands… Touching hands… Reaching out, touching me… Touching yoooooou!"_ God, I love this cheesy-ass song… _"Sweet Caroline! Good times never seemed so good. I'd be inclined to believe they never would. But now I look at the night and it don't seem so lonely. We fill it up with only two. And when I hurt, hurting runs off my shoulders. How can I hurt when holding you? One touching one, reaching out, touching me, touching yooooou! Sweet Caroline! Good times never seemed so good. I'd be inclined to believe they never would. Oh, no, no…"_ I walk to her table and think, _Fuck it,_ before shrugging and pulling her up to dance with me during the instrumental part. I don't let her go as I resume singing, _"Sweet Caroline! Good times never seemed so good. Sweet Caroline! I believed they never could… Sweet Caroline!"_ I keep singing as the song fades out, continuing to dance around with Nattie giggling in my arms until the song is over. Then I dance her back into her seat and return the microphone.

Yeah, that's pretty much my idea of a perfect night. I'm feeling happier than I have in ages. I know it's probably wrong to have so much fun hanging out with a married woman, but we're just singing together, right? There's nothing wrong with that.

Shortly after, the Bellas take Nattie back to the hotel. I go outside and call Joe, telling him everything that just happened.

"Dean, you're having a musical affair with Nattie," he informs me.

"Shut up. It's nothing. We just like to sing together," I say.

"You serenaded each other. That's different. She sang to you, in a risqué outfit, and you danced with her while singing your favorite song. That's more than just hanging out."

"You're reading too much into this."

"You like her."

"Sure I do."

"No, Dean. I mean, you have _feelings_ for her."

"You're nuts. She's married."

"Since when do you care?"

"Since she's married to her childhood sweetheart and she never had eyes for anyone but him, so I have no chance anyway. Why would I waste my time? I just like hanging out with her. She's cool."

"Okay, Dean. Whatever you say."

"When are you coming back?" I need a subject change.

"Soon, I hope. I'm just waiting for the doctors to say the word."

"Hurry the fuck up. I'm bored."

"I'll get right on that." He laughs. "I miss you, too."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

"Talk to you soon?"

"Yep. Behave yourself."

"Do I _ever_?"

"Good point. Bye, Dean." He hangs up and I head back to the hotel, still riding the happy high. I'm sort of hoping Nattie and I can do that again sometime. Maybe Joe's right… I shake the thought out of my head and try to get some sleep. It seems I didn't shake it well enough, because I dream of Nattie, in that outfit, on stage, singing the sexiest song ever straight to me, and I wonder… For just a second… If there's more to my feelings than I want to admit.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

 _ **DEAN**_

April gets cleared to wrestle, but our brilliant bosses have decided to put her in a match against Nikki. Right, because _that's_ smart. Colby and I know we're going to need to keep an eye on her now.

When Nattie and TJ show up, I perk up. I don't mean to, but seeing her brings back flashes of her singing and all I can do is smile. I force myself to hide that as much as possible.

Nattie immediately asks April how she's feeling. It's not until TJ goes to touch her that she tenses up and jumps away. Colby immediately gets between them.

"Great match last night," Colby tells Nattie. "I was impressed."

She beams at him and thanks him. I can tell Nattie doesn't get complimented often enough. It makes me hate TJ even more.

"Yeah, Baby. It was almost as good as mine! Am I right?" TJ asks.

I'm about to reply with something snarky when Colby does it for me. "Your match was kind of mediocre," he says. I'm stunned and extremely amused by this. "You and Claudio beat up a couple of local jobbers. I think it could have been more exciting. No offense, it's just that the girls had a really great match last night. Those jobbers weren't enough of a threat to make an impressive match."

I'm loving this. It's a free excuse to tell TJ he sucks. "Don't hold back," I say. "Dude, it was lame. Anyone can beat up a couple of eighteen-year-olds who weigh two-hundred pounds combined and soaking wet. Claudio's better than that. Maybe _you_ need these warm-up matches, but you're dragging him down." I turn to Nattie. "I'd watch you wrestle over him any day," I say honestly.

Nattie blushes. She also looks nervous, and I'm worried I've gone too far. There's a little bit of awkward small talk before TJ starts making April uncomfortable again. I jump in. "We were just leaving," I say. I take April's arm and drag her away. "I hate that guy," I tell her. "He's an arrogant scumbag and he treats Nattie like shit. She's the only one with any talent in that marriage."

"Did I go too far insulting him?" Colby asks.

I laugh. "Nah, man, you were nice. _I_ went too far, and I regret nothing."

Rosa joins us and starts talking to April. I'm distracted when a text comes through on my phone. Suddenly, I feel a million times better. "Finally!" I proclaim.

"What's up?" Colby asks me.

"Joe's cleared! He's probably making a surprise return tonight."

Colby looks as happy as I feel. We're both probably grinning like idiots, but who cares? Our brother's coming back! This is the best news I've had in fucking _ages_!

"Roman Reigns, back in action?" Rosa asks with a flirtatious grin. "Now that'll be a refreshing sight!"

"You know he's coming to beat your ass, right?" I ask Colby.

"Good," Colby says with a laugh. "I missed that… Ask him if he wants to do Crossfit."

I have no idea how I got roped into doing Crossfit with Colby. It's not my thing, but whatever. Joe's back. I'll deal. A minute later, Joe agrees to come with us. Rosa invites herself along because she wants to see the Shield all sweaty. She freely admits this.

A little bit later, we see him. Joe embraces me and Colby like we haven't seen him in years. I start laughing and rambling because I'm just so relieved he's back. I may resent Joe sometimes because he's getting a push he earned by birthright and not by busting his ass on the indies, but the truth is, he's awesome in his own right, and he _does_ deserve everything he gets. Most of all, he's my brother. He and Colby are there for me when no one else is. (Well, no one but Sami, but I don't see him as often as I'd like to.) I missed him more than I'd ever admit, and it's really fucking good to see him.

Joe's running his hand through Colby's hair just to mess it up. Colby's hair is naturally a frizzy mess, and nothing pisses him off more than someone messing it up when he's tamed it into submission. I laugh harder as Joe continues to do this.

Colby swats his hand away. "Jerk!" He says, but he's laughing, too.

Joe laughs and says, "I missed you, too."

Rosa tries to mount Joe. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but she's totally molesting him with her eyes as she hugs him tightly and flirts her ass off.

April is kind of awkward with him. I can't say I blame her after what she's been through, but I know Joe's the last person who'd ever hurt her. He's nothing but respectful of women. In fact, if he knew what happened to her, he'd kill whoever did it. She's got nothing to fear from him.

Joe, Colby, and I stay close together, but Colby makes sure he's next to April. He keeps checking on her and telling her not to push herself too hard. She seems calmer with him keeping an eye on her.

After the workout, we meet up with the Usos and Mrs. Uso to eat. April stays between Rosa and Colby, which I guess makes her feel safer, but as the Usos crack jokes and bounce off the walls like fucking toddlers, she relaxes slightly.

I'm not paying much attention until Uso Two (Josh/Jey/Whatever the Fuck His Name Is/Who the Fuck Can Even Tell Them Apart?) drops my name saying I should have turned heel instead of Colby. "Too obvious," Mrs. Uso (wife of Uso One) objects.

"Should I be offended?" I ask.

"Joe would have been better," Uso One (Johnny/Jimmy/Again, What's the Fucking Difference?) says. "He was the most babyface of the three."

"Believe that!" The twins say in a freakishly good unison impression of their cousin. Everyone's laughing, even April. Joe's laughing the hardest. I'm just glad April seems to be relaxing a little bit.

Mrs. Uso brings up April's match against Nikki, which starts a conversation about how fake she is, like her boobs. "I don't know what Cena sees in her," Joe says.

"Ask your buddy the titty master to explain it to you," Uso Two says as he laughs harder.

"Hey, don't look at me," I say. "I like them real." This is true. Fake tits aren't as much fun to play with.

The conversation continues and it really starts to sink in that Joe is back. Maybe everything can get back to normal now. I sure as hell hope so.

 _ **NATTIE**_

TJ has been in an awful mood ever since Dean and Colby insulted him. He grabbed me and dragged me back to our room, where he proceeded to ignore me for the better part of the day. When I try to say something, he snaps at me.

"You always have to steal my fucking thunder, don't you?" He asks me. He's had a couple of drinks by now.

I feel like I've been slapped. "What?" I ask.

"You can't ever let me have the glory. You have to show off like you're so much better than me! You're the reason they call me 'Nattie's Husband!' I mean, what the fuck, Nat? Do you get off on making me look bad?"

"TJ, stop it! I'm not trying to make you look bad. I love you. I'd never do anything to hurt you." I'm starting to think that makes _one_ of us in this relationship, because _he_ hurts _me_ more every day.

"Whatever." He opens another beer and downs it like he's been dehydrating in a desert for a decade.

"TJ… Please talk to me."

"What's there to talk about? You made me look stupid, Nattie. You made me look _weak_."

"How? By having a good match? I have a career, too, TJ."

"You always have to top whatever I do. It's like I don't matter."

My heart breaks. "Baby, of _course_ you matter!" I try to wrap my arms around him, but he shrugs off my embrace.

"I'm going for a walk," he says. He stands up and leaves the hotel room before I can protest. I'm left wondering where the hell that came from and what I can do to fix things. I _have_ to fix things. I love TJ. I've _always_ loved him. If I'm hurting him, I need to find a way to stop, no matter what.

 _ **DEAN**_

The next day, I'm standing with April waiting for Colby to show up with the car. Some guy hugs her from behind and she jumps, kicks him, and punches him in the face. I immediately spring into action.

"Back off, Asshat!" I say. I pull the guy off of her.

"Ouch!" He protests. "Chill! _Chill_ , Man!"

"Dean, it's okay," April says quickly. "Let him go."

"He touched you," I object as I keep my death grip locked in. "You just attacked him. You sure you want me to let him go?"

"That's Colt Cabana," April explains. "He's harmless. He's a friend, Dean. He just startled me."

I know that name. I try to remember his real name. I think it's Scott or something like that. I release him reluctantly. He makes a comment about her having a bodyguard. Dude has no idea.

My opinion of him gets slightly better when he invites April to an indy show. I miss the indies so fucking much… The only problem is, all of her "bodyguards" have matches.

When he skips away (literally), I mumble, "Fucking fucktard… That guy is _annoying_. I'm kinda sorry I won't be there to see Dreamer beat his ass, but I've got two matches tonight, and one's late."

"I know. Colby won't be able to go, either," April says.

"You shouldn't go alone." I don't tell her she can't. April had her choices taken from her when some bastard decided to rape her. I won't ever take a choice from her because of that. She needs to feel like she has control.

April apparently agrees, because she invites Rosa to go with her. When that's settled, I decide it will have to be good enough.

 _ **NATTIE**_

I don't have a match tonight, so I just watch the taping and valet TJ and Claudio. TJ refuses to acknowledge me backstage. "Are you okay, Nattie?" Claudio asks me. He must have noticed how stressed I'm feeling.

I force myself to smile. "I'm fine," I say.

"Are you sure? You look pretty down today."

"You're sweet to worry, but don't. I'm just a little bit tired."

He nods. TJ still ignores me as their music starts. We head out toward the ring and I embrace my character. It helps distract me.

They're fighting the Usos tonight, so Trinity is out there, too. The two of us support our men from outside the ring. It's a pretty good fight. Johnny and Josh always bring one hundred and ten percent to their matches, so I know the fans will be entertained. Claudio and TJ try to do the same, but it's impossible to be as animated as the twins. Still, they do a pretty good job, and the fans are into it.

Trinity runs interference every time I try to cheat for TJ and Claudio. She hits me with the Rear View outside of the ring, something that's not as easy as you might think to pull off. I hit the floor like I'm supposed to, and stay down for a couple of minutes.

TJ jumps out of the ring to yell at me that I need to get back up. Johnny takes advantage of this and superkicks him. Claudio is forced to carry the match for a bit. When I get back up, TJ gets up with me and tags himself back in. As Josh is about to hit him with a finisher, TJ pulls me up into the ring by my arm so hard, it actually hurts. I manage to stay on my feet even though the pain is shooting through my arm and distracting me. Josh, who didn't expect me to be flung in front of TJ because it wasn't scripted, kicks me in the face.

The Uso Twins freeze. There aren't a lot of ways to deal with this sort of thing without breaking character, but they're babyfaces, so they can get away with stopping to check on me. I lay on the mat clutching my face. It really hurts, but I can handle it.

"Shit, Nattie," Josh whispers. "Are you okay? I didn't see you, I swear…"

I try to smile reassuringly at him. "Yeah… I'm fine," I whisper back.

"I'm _so_ sorry…"

"It's okay. Just finish the match."

"Oh, I _will_." I see a murderous look on his face and know he's furious with my husband for going off-script and throwing me into harm's way.

TJ tries to steal a win by rolling Josh up as he's checking on me, but Josh recovers and kicks out at two. A trainer comes to the ring to help me roll out safely so I can't get hurt any worse. Josh proceeds to pummel the hell out of TJ. I can't even watch as he hits him again and again, no longer pretending to stick to the script.

Claudio finally breaks them up. Josh tags out, says something to Johnny, and three seconds later, Johnny picks up where Josh left off. Again, Claudio has to break it up. He tags himself in and finishes Johnny off for the win.

When we get backstage, Claudio pulls me aside. "How bad was that hit?" He asks me.

"It's nothing," I insist. I can feel my face bruising, but I have ice on it and I think it'll be alright.

"TJ, what were you _thinking_?" Claudio asks him. "She could have been seriously hurt."

"She's fine," TJ says with a shrug. "The fans love it when I do shit like that. I'm a heel, remember?"

" _Paul_ won't love it. Letting women get hit like that isn't PG."

"Paul's let Orton punt his _wife_ in the past. You're telling me _this_ will bother him?"

"I'm telling you it was a terrible thing to do. Nattie's safety should _always_ come first."

I can see TJ getting angry, and that is the last thing I need, so I interrupt. "I'm fine, really. It's okay. He got caught up in the heat of the moment," I say.

Johnny and Josh proceed to fuss over me when they join us backstage. Trinity holds the ice pack to my face and says a bunch of things under her breath that basically make it clear she thinks TJ is a huge jerk for what he pulled tonight. I let them all take care of me for a little while until TJ walks away in anger. That's when I know I need to go back to our hotel room, because if I'm not there when he gets back, he'll only be more pissed off. I make an excuse and hurry back to our room.

 _ **DEAN**_

Joe, Colby, and I are in good spirits when we get back to Colby's room. We are just messing around when Colby suddenly turns pale.

"What's wrong?" Joe asks.

Colby can't seem to form words, so Joe and I look at whatever he's looking at. It's an article on Twitter, and the article has a photo of a burning car on it. Joe scrolls down to see why Colby is so freaked out.

"Oh, fuck," Joe says.

I echo this as I see the description of what we're looking at. April, Rosa, and apparently Drew Galloway were in that car, and there's no word whatsoever on how they're doing.

"The car… The picture," Colby manages to get out.

"It's okay," I say, even though its obviously not. "She's tough, Colby. They all are. They're gonna be okay." I have to say it because Colby needs to hear it, but I don't believe it. The photos tell a very bad story. There's a good chance April is dead or seriously injured, but he doesn't need to hear that. He's already thinking the worst, and he needs us to pull him back from the edge.

"Let's go," I say.

"Where?" Colby asks.

"The hospital. We'll get answers there." I pull him up and lead him and Joe from the room. I try not to imagine the worst case scenario, but it's impossible. That accident was insanely bad. It will be a miracle if April walked away. Hell, it will be a miracle if _any_ of them did. That doesn't matter, though. Worrying about the "what ifs" won't help; getting answers will, so that is what we're going to do.


End file.
